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I think we are seeing the next dominant style of play which is great for badminton. Liu/Qiu’s style is similar but I find their attack is slightly better than their defence and they seem more consistent than Ahsan/Setiawan – but they would probably get better as they play more.

I have to say this new pairing has been the biggest recent surprise for me. It’s refreshing to see how good this pair are and how different their style of play is. The more I watch this pair play, the more I am convinced this will be the dominant style of play for years to come.

Unlike other pairings where there’s usually a strong rear court player paired with a fast and smart front court player, with Ahsan/Setiawan they are both relatively equal in most areas. Both are equally good at playing at the net and while Ahsan struggles a little with sustaining heavy rear court smashing, he is accurate and fast. Both have great disguised rear court drop shots which they mix well with cunning smashes.

Whilst others rely on a heavy rear court smash to create an opportunity for the forecourt player, A/S’s style of play seems to neutralize that style to some extent by introducing a lot of flat play and varying the speed of their attacks with many cross court shots. By not lifting the shuttle (unless absolutely necessary) they prevent their opponents from getting into that conventional attacking formation and stops the big smashers from doing what they do best - pounding down the smashes. This is significant drawback to the likes of Fu, Ko etc where they are unable to unleash the big smashes and I’m sure A/S know that.

I am most impressed by how clever (and fast) their play is. Setiawan seems to have an uncanny ability to read the game extremely well, know where the gaps are and is deadly accurate. He is such an astute player and I think Ahsan gives him that confidence to do that, more so than with Kido.

I genuinely believe that when this pair are on form, there really aren’t many that will be able to stand in their way, now that JJS/LYD are no more. Tactically Qiu/Liu are probably the only pairing I feel can stand up to them now unless others can respond and change their tactics.

I think we are seeing the next dominant style of play which is great for badminton. Liu/Qiu’s style is similar but I find their attack is slightly better than their defence and they seem more consistent than Ahsan/Setiawan – but they would probably get better as they play more.

I have to say this new pairing has been the biggest recent surprise for me. It’s refreshing to see how good this pair are and how different their style of play is. The more I watch this pair play, the more I am convinced this will be the dominant style of play for years to come.

Unlike other pairings where there’s usually a strong rear court player paired with a fast and smart front court player, with Ahsan/Setiawan they are both relatively equal in most areas. Both are equally good at playing at the net and while Ahsan struggles a little with sustaining heavy rear court smashing, he is accurate and fast. Both have great disguised rear court drop shots which they mix well with cunning smashes.

Whilst others rely on a heavy rear court smash to create an opportunity for the forecourt player, A/S’s style of play seems to neutralize that style to some extent by introducing a lot of flat play and varying the speed of their attacks with many cross court shots. By not lifting the shuttle (unless absolutely necessary) they prevent their opponents from getting into that conventional attacking formation and stops the big smashers from doing what they do best - pounding down the smashes. This is significant drawback to the likes of Fu, Ko etc where they are unable to unleash the big smashes and I’m sure A/S know that.

I am most impressed by how clever (and fast) their play is. Setiawan seems to have an uncanny ability to read the game extremely well, know where the gaps are and is deadly accurate. He is such an astute player and I think Ahsan gives him that confidence to do that, more so than with Kido.

I genuinely believe that when this pair are on form, there really aren’t many that will be able to stand in their way, now that JJS/LYD are no more. Tactically Qiu/Liu are probably the only pairing I feel can stand up to them now unless others can respond and change their tactics.

This is not a new way of playing... It has always been Indonesia trademark since REXY and Ricky... Then wijaya, sigit, tony gunawan & halim hayanto... Till kido and setiawan, even malaysia pairing of koo and tan was playing like this when they are under REXY coaching.

rally don't usually last more than 4 shots from service and unless opponent can withstand the first 3 shots. That's how kido and setiawan beat caiyun and fu in og2008.

Although these kind of play seems easy but it takes two players who are extremely good in anticipation of shots and quick to execute it perfectly. Even when defending, they will drive back the shuttle to force flat exchange

For the last few years, the drop of form for koo/tan and the injury to kido, there isn't a pair that able to execute this kind of play.

if u watch back koo/tan & kido/setiawan glory years 2006/9... Matches are less than 30min but for tony, wijaya, sigit and halim time, matches are longer due to service over rules

This is not a new way of playing... It has always been Indonesia trademark since REXY and Ricky... Then wijaya, sigit, tony gunawan & halim hayanto... Till kido and setiawan, even malaysia pairing of koo and tan was playing like this when they are under REXY coaching.

rally don't usually last more than 4 shots from service and unless opponent can withstand the first 3 shots. That's how kido and setiawan beat caiyun and fu in og2008.

Although these kind of play seems easy but it takes two players who are extremely good in anticipation of shots and quick to execute it perfectly. Even when defending, they will drive back the shuttle to force flat exchange

For the last few years, the drop of form for koo/tan and the injury to kido, there isn't a pair that able to execute this kind of play.

if u watch back koo/tan & kido/setiawan glory years 2006/9... Matches are less than 30min but for tony, wijaya, sigit and halim time, matches are longer due to service over rules

Thanks for the answer - thats explain why they are using fast and mobile rackets like NR800 and FL
series - it allows them to serve well, return serve unbelievably and attack the 3rd shot.
Its fast flat game with very few rallies and marvelous control.

This is not a new way of playing... It has always been Indonesia trademark since REXY and Ricky.

if u watch back koo/tan & kido/setiawan glory years 2006/9... Matches are less than 30min but for tony, wijaya, sigit and halim time, matches are longer due to service over rules

You are spot on! The style that Ahsan/Hendra adopts now is not a new one. If you look at Kido/Hendra's victory at the WC 2007, you will notice that all the matches were done within 40 mins. I feel that Ahsan is slightly better than Kido because Ahsan is more agile and can play at the net too.

"Keep the shuttle down, keep the shuttle down."
Isn't that the most important part of doubles play?

To rewind a few years, if Minarti Timur had stuck to this golden rule, she & Tri Kusharyanto would probably have been Olympic Mixed Doubles champions instead of Zhang Jun & Gao Ling at Sydney 2000

Ahsan/Setiawan are proving to be a very formidable combination indeed!

haha,,, that is what Ko Herry IP always talk to them during the match
"asal turun aja, asal turun aja. pelan2, gak perlu keras, yang penting bola turun"
""Keep the shuttle down, keep the shuttle down. no need to hit it hard, the importance is to keep the shuttle down"

A first time defeat to Lee Yong Dae/ Yoo Yeon Seong and Ahsan/Hendra first time defeat since All England 2013 against LXL/QZH. What an incredible achievement. I have noticed at yesterday's final that Ahsan/Hendra are not in their form in which they are not as offensive and not giving pressure since the beginning. It turns out that Ahsan has a right shoulder injury and withdrew from French Open and back to Indonesia for recovery.

Lee Yong Dae / Yoo Yeon Seong performance was not bad, in fact they are far more better than LYD/KSH. YYS has better defense and mentally stronger than KSH, this give LYD confidence & trust to his partner and that is essential for a partnership. I am looking forward for another clash between Ahsan/Hendra vs LYD/YYS.

I saw Ahsan seemed not comfy with his right shoulder since the QF against the Japanese MD pair, I think he was struggling with his shoulder injury. Hope it's not something bad though.
Another thing was related to the slower shuttle speed, I heard the commentator mentioned about the change of shuttlecock speed decreasing from S3 to S2. This allows SanDra's opponents to play longer rallies which is not their style. SanDra couldn't use their opponents' force to create the pace so there were many times during the rallies, they had to lift the shuttle and gave their opponents more opportunities to attack and shoot big smashes.